


Iris

by OctarinePegacorn



Category: Creepypasta - Fandom, Eyeless Jack - Fandom
Genre: Blood Eagle, Cannibalism, Dark Humor, Drugging, Evisceration, Gore, Horror, Kidnapping, M/M, One-Sided Crush, Romantic Horror, Sadism, Yandere, at least physically, cannibal, don't worry the reader doesn't get eaten or killed or hurt too much, eldritch horror, horror romance, nephrology, sonogram, unnecessary medical procedure, well he'd have to be human in order to be a cannibal I guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-17
Updated: 2016-06-17
Packaged: 2018-07-15 15:27:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7227970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OctarinePegacorn/pseuds/OctarinePegacorn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Things are looking up. Your roommate’s cute half-brother moved in and you scored a job at the local hospital. It’s too bad that you suspect, on your first day, that the head nephrologist might be a sicko...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Good Doctor

**Author's Note:**

> Based off of "Eyeless Jack" by Azelf5000. This chapter doesn't have any violence but it does feature creepiness. Mostly because you have to take your top off for an unnecessary ultrasound.

“I am beyond grateful to you,” Mitch told his brother as the three of you laid sprawled around the living room. Edwin smiled but then grimaced, rubbing his sore arm. All three of you felt sore. It had taken a good part of a week to assist your new housemate in unpacking.

“And you too, man,” he added, playfully punching you in the arm. “After my house foreclosed, I thought I was going to have to move back in with Mom and Dad.”  

Now it was your turn to grimace. Ed was actually Mitch’s half-brother, although he looked more like a slightly older version of him, you suspected he may have been the product of an affair. His brother’s mom wanted nothing to do with him and tried to keep Edwin away from her family. That didn’t stop their father from keeping regular contact with his youngest son, and in the last couple of years the brothers had reconnected, even if it was initially just through the use of social media. 

“Should we celebrate?” you asked. 

“Nah, too tired. Let’s just have a quick dinner and celebrate tomorrow.” Mitch noticed your expression and smiled before pretending to give you a noogie. You swatted his hand away. “We can toast with that sparkling water you got on sale today, though.”

After Mitch set the table, Ed served the microwaved food, and you poured the drinks, glasses were raised. 

“To finally living with roomies who will pay rent on time.” 

“To two brothers being reunited after a decade!”

“To [name]’s new job at the hospital!” exclaimed Edwin.

“What’s your last name again?” Mitch asked you. 

“[surname].”

“‘Dr. [surname].’ Sounds good.”

“I’m not a doctor yet.”

“Still, you’re in the medical field. That’s impressive.”

You tried to keep your smile small. That proved to be impossible, so you looked down, beaming.  
***  
Feeling a little restless, you decided to stay up late and listen to the radio. Cable had been canceled a while ago. As you station surfed, you decided to stop on one that played Top 40’s artists’ songs, just not their singles. 

“And now here’s the title track from Kesha’s extended play _Cannibal_.”

You sat on the couch, where you often fell asleep on nights like these. As it got to the “I/Am/Cannibal, cannibal” chant, you turned it down, trying to be courteous to your new roommate. His bedroom was farther down the hall than Edwin’s, who slept like a log, but you weren’t sure how light of a sleeper Mitch was. Or, worse, his musical preference. 

After about ten minutes of this station, you realized how heavy your eyelids felt. The radio was turned off and you lied down before feeling a dull ache in your back. Your bladder was full as well, so you got up and shuffled to the bathroom in the hall. In there was a high fenestration someone had neglected to shut. The screen was letting in pleasant night air but you were feeling a bit paranoid so you began to lower the window.

You almost wet yourself when you heard rustling outside, near the garbage and recycling bins. It sounded like one fell (or was knocked) over but you didn’t feel like taking a broom outside to scare away any possibly rabid wildlife.  
***  
“Hey, Mitch,” you greeted, sitting down at the breakfast table. You winced as your back hit the chair but he was too groggy to notice. “Too excited to sleep well last night?”

“Ah, no.” He yawned. “I just heard some animal outside last night. Probably a raccoon trying to get into the trash.”

“Probably,” Edwin agreed, sipping his coffee.  
***  
While you dressed, you used the full length mirror on the door to examine your back. There were huge bruises and you considered getting an ice pack but you didn’t want to be late for your first day, even if it was going to be consumed by a tour of the hospital and wasn’t a true workday.

You were instructed to wait outside the office of one of the doctors until he was ready to show you around. As your back was about to rest against the wall, a familiar voice called out.

“[name], is that you?”

Looking up, you saw a girl you had taken an introduction to biology class with. You greeted her and asked her if she worked there, too.

“Well, obviously,” she giggled, gesturing to her nurses’ scrubs. “I haven’t seen you here before. It’s not your first day, is it?”

“It is.”

“You’re going to like it. People are really nice here. Are you waiting for anyone? If not, I’m about to head down to the cafeteria and you can sit with me if you want.”

“Thanks, but I am waiting for the head nephrologist,” you answered, tapping the plate on the door. 

“‘Dr. J. Lees-Sey’,” she read. “Oh, I’ve seen him around all the time, but I’ve only talked to him a coup-

“Speak of the devil!” your old classmate exclaimed, startling you. “We were just talking about you, Dr. Lees.”

The good doctor had opened the door slightly and curiously stuck his head out. Composing himself and shooting her a friendly smile, he stepped out and gently closed the door behind him.

“Only good things I hope,” he said before turning to face you. “You must be [given name] [surname]. As she said, I’m Dr. Lees-Sey, or just ‘Dr. Lees’ or ‘Dr. Sey’, whatever’s easiest to remember.”

His grip was very cool to the touch

_...cold hands, warm heart…_

and your face heated up slightly as he seemed to accidently hold onto the handshake for a couple of seconds longer than necessary. 

“How long were you waiting outside my office?”

“Oh, uh, I was just told to wait for you. I didn’t realize you were actually in there. Sorr- Uh!”

As you straightened up, you’d pressed your back against the wall and been reminded of how bruised it was from yesterday.

“[name], are you okay?!” your former classmate asked.

“Yeah, my back just hurt-” Wincing again, you bent forward slightly. “-urts.”

Dr. Lees gently put his hand on your shoulder, as if to steady you. Embarrassed, you stood up as straight as possible, trying to ignore the aching. 

“Where does it hurt, [name]?” he questioned. “Anywhere in particular? Like… your lower back?”

“Kind of all over,” you muttered, almost under your breath. 

“Well, we’re in a hospital, let’s examine you.”  
***  
The entire hurried walk to one of the sonogram rooms was slightly awkward not only because your short classmate had trouble keeping up with the doctor’s long strides, but because Dr. Lees didn’t remove his hand from your shoulder the entire way.

It wouldn’t surprise you if he was concerned about damage to your kidneys, given his occupation, but it was mostly your middle to upper back that hurt and you told him so.

“Still, we’re here,” he answered, back to you, watching the sonogram technician set up the equipment. “Might as well take a look at everything. Now take your shirt off and lie down, belly up.”

 _Like a dead fish_ , you thought.

“If there’s something wrong with your kidneys,” the technician explained, “we want to check out your bladder, too.”

As the machine was being turned on and the doctor fished around in the cabinets, you were feeling that primal fight-or-flight feel and not sure why.

“Like he said, just take off your shirt and, well, we normally have someone lie on their back first (sorry) and, uh... Maybe we should get your insurance information firs-”

“Never mind that,” snapped Dr. Lees, almost glaring at him. Your old acquaintance, who was in the far corner, bit her lower lip. “He’s in pain. If it’s his kidneys… well, I’d want to deal with those particular organs as soon as possible.” He thrust a pair of rubber gloves at him and held out a small opened tub of what looked like petroleum jelly.  

The sonography expert glanced at you, almost failed to suppress a sigh, and pulled the gloves on before dabbing his fingers in the little container. Slightly embarrassed, you decided you wanted to get this examination over with as soon as possible. All you’d wanted was for this first work week to go without incident. 

As you pulled your shirt over your head, your friend strolled across the room and silently took it from you. Grateful as you were, you [unsmiled](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheUnSmile) at her and gingerly lowered yourself down. Just as you got used to the pain, you noticed how disconcertedly cold this room was

_This is a hospital. I’ll have to get used to the freezing._

and chilly rubbery digits began spreading gel onto your abdomen. Goosebumps didn’t rise until you noticed the nephrologist standing by your head, scrutinizing your torso, which had mostly faded bruises. Your gaze quickly swam back to your midriff, where the transducer glided.

A non-fuzzy towel was handed to you and you wiped the lukewarm gunk off before the sole female in the room courteously took it from you. As you turned over, you heard Lees suck in his breath.

“All those contusions… No wonder you’re in pain,” he said, voice dripping with concern. Now his gaze was swimming down your spine to your lower back. “What happened?”

“Well, we got a new roommate and we’ve spent about a week unpacking for him. And when we were on the stairs, carrying boxes, Edwin tripped and one of the boxes Mitch was carrying fell on me and I, uh, fell.”

You felt embarrassed but the doctor’s eyes were firmly planted on your lower back, where the transducer was examining his area of expertise. His lips quirked up and you almost missed a long tongue shoot out and lick the bottom one. 

_Probably a nervous habit._

Your eyes widened as he carefully rubbed the gel off your back, and you felt your face heat up so you buried it in your arms until he was finished. As you rose, the nurse took your folded shirt off the counter and wordlessly gave it back to you.  
***  
“You do realize that there was probably very little point to that whole procedure, right?”

Nodding your head, you shoveled a spoonful of carryout into your mouth. It was dinnertime and all three of you young bachelors had splurged a bit. Edwin sighed.

“His reasons for seeing you in that position may not have been entirely altruistic or wholesome or whatev-”

“Look, Mitch,” he said, “I looked up Dr. Lees-Sey. He’s on the board of directors for that hospital and very well respected in his field. You’re just needlessly worrying [name]. If he was some kind of pervert, then he wouldn’t have gotten such good reviews online.”

Mitchell stared at his brother, expression blank. 

_Rate your kidney surgeon dot com?_ your brain offered.

“In fact, there was some kind of harassment scandal at an old hospital he worked at and he was the whistleblower.”

Your newest roomie began to get up from the table, dish in hand. Mitch picked up his brother’s empty plate as well before heading into the kitchen. 

“ _Thank you!_ ” Ed called after him.

“All this asskissing outta nowhere,” he muttered, letting the door swing behind him. You grimaced. 

Edwin took a sip of his flat sparkling water. “Look, [name], as soon as you told me this guy’s name I went to look him up, because he sounded familiar. Like I said, Dr. Lees’s, well, a hero. Not just because he got some real perverts fired, but because he’s a prolific surgeon as well.”

Feeling a bit calmer and less embarrassed, you listened to him gush about the articles he’d read about the guy. As soon as you got back home from a long day of being shown around, you told Edwin a little about the friendly kidney doctor before hitting the shower.

“He’s a really interesting figure. From what I read while you were scrubbing yourself, it’s like he can predict there’s something wrong with people.”

“Like if someone’s not drinking enough water?” you joked. That’s what he’d told you after the exam. At first you wondered if he just trying to save face, but now you weren’t so sure. Looking back, you thought he may have just been trying to fulfill his duty. Or, rather, making sure the sonogram tech's duty was fulfilled. 

Duty _and not_ job _because what he did wasn’t legal._

“Well, not _what_ ’s wrong with them, just that he has a ‘Woah, man’-” Edwin’s eyes widened faced his palms outward. “-’s intuition.”

You cracked a polite smile at that.

“Anyway,” he said, standing up, glass in hand. “Don’t let what Mitch say bother you.” He lowered his voice. “I think he might just be projecting some of his own feelings onto the doct-”

“Look at the brains on Ed… _the psych major_.”

Edwin quickly straightened up, vice gripping the glass. His younger sibling was goodnaturedly grinning and carrying a good-sized cake to the table. 

He sat it and a large knife down. “I have a pretty good ‘radar’, and [name]’s not showing up anywhere on it.”

You were thankful that he was staring down Ed because your lips involuntarily quirked downward.

“While you two breadwinners were out, I baked a cake while taking a break from sending out my résumé today. One place I mailed it to already called back.” He pumped his fist. “Going to an interview next week.” 

“Life’s looking up,” Edwin answered, giving his little bro a fist bump. After dessert, Edwin would clean up the rest of the dishes and utensils, while Mitch and you chatted at the table.

“Look, man, I’m sorry for freaking out about Dr. Sey-Lees. Edwin’s probably right. He’s probably just a guy with some unorthodox methods.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it. I’m glad you care about me enough to… voice your concern.”

He gave you one of the most genuine smiles you’d seen in awhile, eyes crinkling warmly. Then he wished you goodnight before striding off to his room. Less than ten minutes later, while you were flossing your teeth, you looked deep into your reflection’s eyes and pondered whether or not Mitch was really interested in you, because it wasn’t like you could enter into a romantic relationship with a colleague without it backfiring in some way.


	2. Mitch's Stitches

Usually when you entered the kitchen in the morning Edwin was already sitting at the table, finished with his hearty breakfast and just starting on a mug of coffee. Or applying foundation, as he was still recovering from acne. 

But there wasn’t any dishes or bowls soaking in the sink and Ed was pouring a kettle. His little brother was nowhere to be seen.  

“Machine’s broken,” he announced, setting it back down on the stove. “Did you hear that thump last night? I hope Mitchy didn’t bump his head on anything. He’s usually an early riser.” 

“What thump?”

“Eddd…” slurred a voice from down the hall. Edwin was about to set his cup down when you held up a hand and went to check up on his sibling. As soon as you looked down the hallway, you were perplexed by the figure slumped against the wall. When Mitch stepped forward, you saw that he was struggling to keep his balance. 

“What time is it?”

“I don’t- That’s not important right now, I'll help you… Oh my God.”

Mitchell lifted his head from the wall, where a large splotch of blood stained the wallpaper. Adrenaline kicked in and you were able to quickly assist him into the kitchen.

“Bro, how much did you drin-? **_Jesus hell!_** ”

Ed dropped his mug and scalding coffee splashed onto your and Mitch’s bare feet, but he didn’t seem to register it.

“What time is it?” he repeated. Edwin held up his compact and Mitch’s dilated eyes almost managed to focus on his reflection. 

“I’ll get my first aid kit.” Edwin nodded and grasped his brother tightly by the shoulders. “He’s acting like he’s been under anesthesia.”

As soon as you returned you set about disinfecting the cut. Once you had successfully bandaged his face, you and your other housemate had him sit down in a chair. 

“Wait, he didn’t have a bad reaction to something, did he? Anesthesiactic shoc-?”

“You’re thinking of anaphylactic shock,” you replied soothingly. “Whatever happened to him, it isn’t allergy-related.” Edwin’s shoulders slumped as he sighed in relief. “But he’s too out of it to tell us anything. He’s been drugged. We’ll take him to the hospital.”

“Right. I’ll get the car started and come back to help you carry him.”  
***  
“Dad used to sleepwalk occasionally,” Edwin piped in, stuffing his cellphone into his back pocket. He’d been outside the door, calling his boss to inform her that he would be late because of a family member’s medical emergency. 

_”There goes my tardy-free work record,”_ you imagined him thinking. 

“That’s probably what Mitchell was doing,” said Lees-Sey. “Any bruises he may have aren’t visible because they would be under his hair.”

The less attainable of your two current crushes had been talking jovially to a man whose grandfather was apparently having issues urinating, while the E.R. receptionist was going over a form. As soon as you called out the doctor’s name, his head swiveled around and, without looking back, he apologized to the man before rushing over to you. Before he could speak you turned to check on Mitch, whose condition hadn’t improved much. His eyes started to follow yours before Edwin said something he couldn’t ignore.

“My brother’s been roofied.” 

So now Mitch was once again resting his head against the wall, this time sitting on a medical exam table. He was more coherent now but you thought he shouldn’t be allowed to operate heavy machinery or make any important decisions for the rest of the day. Although you doubted that flunitrazepam was involved, you still wondered why he was acting like he’d recently come out of the operating room. 

_Lees knows what he’s doing_ , you assured yourself. It wasn’t until later you would learn how unfortunate it was for all three of you housemates that there hadn’t been another doctor available in the emergency room that morning, one that would have told you that Mitch had actually been sedated like you first suspected. 

You let your eyes wander as Edwin told the polite nephrologist an anecdote about his father’s noctambulism. There weren’t any posters in this room you could awkwardly stare at so you allowed your gaze to make its way towards Mitch, who seemed to be half-listening to his half-brother. Resting against the wall, his back was towards you and a bare foot dangled over the edge of the table. 

As your scrutinization slowly made its way from his well-formed calve to his boxer-covered thighs to his back, you noticed that his t-shirt wasn’t pulled down all the way, revealing 

“Stitches.”

“What was that, [name]?”

Pointing to the bizarre incision, you swallowed nervously. What was that urban legend? The one about waking up in a tub of ice with a note stating that

“Your kidney is missing,” Lees continued, gingerly lifting the shirt up a bit more before letting go. His tone wasn’t as excited as you would have suspected, given how he’d been acting when he wanted to make sure your two bean-shaped organs were functioning properly. 

Mitch, without changing his sitting position, gently patted the sewn up gash before bolting upright. His mouth dropped open as he turned to face the doctor. You glanced around, noticing that your other roomie was missing.

“Where did-?” 

“I told his brother to go back to the reception desk to sign some papers. And he asked where the restroom was.”

 _How embarrassing…_ you thought before gulping. _I was too busy checking out Mitch to notice Edwin was gone…_  
***  
“Mitch, we need to call the police.”

The two of you were back at home. You were given the choice of starting your first actual work day or taking the day off to look after him, although you knew that when 

_...and if…_

you became an actual doctor that would not be an option. A break was something you believed you should have been grateful for, but you wanted to actually do your job. 

“Look, [name], if someone went to the trouble of breaking and entering, giving me a bit of anesthesia, and performing a minor surgical procedure on me, then… maybe they had a good reason for it.”

There were so many things wrong with that statement you didn’t know how to immediately reply. What if he had been or still was being stalked? Blood type mattered, after all. And deep organ removal was _never_ “a minor surgical procedure”. You supposed he was in denial, that he didn’t want to believe that this situation was as disturbing as you knew it was. 

“Look,” you answered, rubbing your temples, “I understand that you think that maybe some impoverished child is getting your kidney, but the black market org-”

“[name], whoever took it left me alive, didn’t they?” There was, you mused, no good way for you to reply to that just then. “They didn’t take any organs I can’t live without. They obviously meant me no- well, _little_ harm.” 

“...You seem to be doing okay. I’m gonna go back to work now.” _And not point out the scratch on your cheek._  
***  
The enigma surrounding the kidney removal had been so disturbing to you, you completely forgot to change into work-appropriate clothing and weren’t reminded until you saw your nurse friend speed walking down the hall, transporting an IV drip. You called out her name. She almost paused before realizing she didn’t have time for whatever you wanted. As she stopped in front of a closed door, about to knock, you caught up with her.

“Not now,” she hissed at you. Then she rapped her knuckles against the door, her tone sweet as she called out “Are you ready for your transfusion, honey?”

You were supposed to be working in the children’s section today as well, but you needed to see one of your superiors about your schedule. As this was a very small hospital, you should have been able to just approach one of them about about it, but the only one you’d talked to in person since being hired was Dr. Lees. And you realized you left your ID at home.

 _Well, fuck. Can’t have them thinking I’m some walk-in weirdo. I should have just stayed home with Mitch today. Hope I didn’t blow my chances with him._

Your lips curved into an unhappy smile. Because you resided in a little town, the dating pool was shallow. The only other person who you were currently attracted to/probably shared the same orientation with was Lees-Sey, and you knew better than to try anything with a higher-up. Feeling piteous, you decided to wait until your friend was done with her client before either going back home or seeing if she could help you locate the nephrologist.  

_Maybe someone has spare scrubs in my size…_

“Isn’t this your vacation day?” 

Her nasty tone shocked you. Sure, she’d just hissed at you but you believed that was because she was in a hurry and you thoughtlessly impeded her.

“Yeah, well, I decided to come back.” As you were still in the clothes you had slept in the night before, you weren’t surprised to see her scowl as she appraised your appearance. 

“Look, this is a hospital. We’re in the medical field. Our job is to be available whenever possible. I shouldn’t even be standing here, having this conversation with you. Just because you’re either already sleeping with-” Your eyes widened. “-or making plans to sleep with a superior, and a board member at that, doesn’t give you the right to abuse your-”

“ _Stop._ ”

“No, I won’t ‘stop’. You changed a lot since school. Or maybe I didn’t really know _you_.”

The previous day’s events came back to you. An unnecessary ultrasound probably would have made her at least slightly suspicious, but an undocumented one definitely unsettled her. The final straw was you being granted the privilege of looking after a drugged up roommate. 

“No. I would never- That’s _not me_.”

“Why are you even here right now?” 

Honestly was usually the best policy when someone believed in a problematic lie about you, but you knew your immediate answer wasn’t going to make her happy. So you decided to tweak the truth a little.

“Did you hear about what happened to my new roommate?”

“Is Edward the old or new one?”

“Edwin’s the old one. How did you kno- almost know what his name is?”

“Dr. Lees told me after I asked where you were.” 

That’s when you wondered if there was some blackmail going on. _“If you tell anyone,”_ you could imagine him saying to her, _“then they’ll know you were a participant, too.” How much did he tell her?_

“Well,” you continued, despite your dry mouth, “Mitch, the new one, had some… drug issues and when we found him we had to get to the E.R.” She looked horrified. “He’s okay, but he’s recovering at home.”

“Wait, does he not have insurance? Is that why he’s not here?” 

_Thank God she’s filling in the blanks on her own._  
***  
As you headed down to the office of Dr. J. Lees-Sey, you felt guilty for implying that Mitch was a poverty-stricken addict.

Lees was standing outside the door, a white stick in his mouth. At first you thought he was lighting up, in a hospital of all places, until he pulled out a pink lollipop. He looked, as you thought he would, surprised to see you. 

“Hey [name], how’s Mitchell doing?”

“Oh, he’s recovering well, I guess.”

“You guess?”

“Well, he’s actually doing pretty wel-”

“You need to get out of here.”

“What?”

“It’s nice that you came back on a day off, but where are your scrubs?”

“That was actually just what I wanted to ask you about. Are there any spare-?”

“Look, I was just talking to the head of urology and she’s going to be right back with some paperwork and you not being in uniform is going to reflect badly on both us.”

“I’m sorr-”

“Don’t be,” he answered, with a heart-winning smile. “She’ll probably just hustle by and drop the files into my arms and be on her way. Why don’t you just hide in my office for a minute?”

“Uh…” 

Before you got a chance to comply on your own, he pushed you inside and shut the door. And then you had an epiphany.

_He said Mitch’s entire kidney was gone. If someone has a radical nephrectomy, even if they’re in good health, it takes weeks to recover._


	3. The Kidney Konundrum

_Okay, [name], he didn’t lock the door_ , you reasoned. _He just shut it. If I absolutely needed to, I could bolt._

“Hey Jacob!” you heard a feminine voice exclaim. “Could you spare-?”

“...a few minutes?

“A few, or a dozen!” 

Their synchronized laughter might have made you roll your eyes if you weren’t so unnerved. How exactly had Mitch tried to warn you? _“You do realize that there was probably very little point to that whole procedure, right?”_ your mind echoed. _“His reasons for seeing you in that position may not have been entirely altruistic or wholesome or whatev-”_ And when you urged him to call the cops he had sounded like Edwin when he was defending Dr. Lees and gushing over his exploits.

You could only chastise yourself for not being able to question authority at the right time. So many things didn’t add up. If Mitch was really missing a kidney, why did he seem so healthy? Why wasn’t he given antibiotics and painkillers? 

“And why didn’t you give Mitch the ultrasound?” you muttered under your breath. 

The most likely theory, in your opinion, was that your new housemate wasn’t really missing a kidney… yet. Someone had just cut him open enough for stitches so that in the near future he could become the victim of organ theft. But how many people had the medical expertise? Anyone in the nephrology department? Maybe the urologist a couple of feet from you. A retiree? 

“...need to lock my office and I'll meet you in the operating theater...”

There was a click and rapidly departing footsteps. Terrified, you raised your fists to bang on the door.

“[name], you need to stay in there for a while, okay? You’ll thank me later.”

“You can’t do this,” you whispered, eyes wide, arms still raised. “I… I’ll call-”

“I’m _so sorry_ for the horrible things I’m about to say, but if I think you’re going to start screaming for ‘help’, I’m just going to say that you threatened me or that obnoxious piss doctor-”

_Pretty strong words for someone who’s most knowledgeable about organs that filter out the stuff..._

“-and you know that the security cameras can’t pick up sound. And, you might not believe me, but if you’re compliant I can make the footage disappear and everyone will just think that you were at home, nursing your roommate back to health like I recommended.”

“Like the good doctor ordered,” you said aloud before thinking _One person will know that I’m here. I have to call her._

“Ha, exactly! Oh, and I swiped your phone from your pocket. You have every right to think that I’m untrustworthy right now but I’m not gonna go through it. Let’s just hope that _Edwin_ and Mitchell have enough sense not to call someone on the job.

“ _Now_ , I have a phone in my office but you’re not going to use that either because your buddy from Intro to Bio isn’t going to end her career here in a pleasant way if you do.”

A second and a half was all it took for you to decide that nothing is scarier than not knowing, so you decided to question him. Besides, you may have been able to keep him distracted long enough for someone to pass by and wonder who he was threatening through the door. 

“How did you know what class we took together? And what are you planning on doing to her?” As an afterthought: “It’s not like I have her cell phone number, anyway.”

You mentally kicked yourself for not getting it yet. And you realized that if you didn’t play your cards right, she might not be able to give her number to anyone in the future. 

“You can keep your head in a frightening situation, huh? I like that.” He chuckled. “How did that song you were listening to go? ‘I think you’re hot/I think you’re cool/You’re the kinda guy I’d stalk in school.’”

“ _How did you know I was listening to that?_ ”

“Always listening, no eyes,” he said, giggling as he began to walk away. 

_He’s a Slenderfan?_ you thought incredulously. _What was that thing Noah said about HABIT? “He’s not just evil. He’s like, he’s like silly evil.’” Ugh, she probably just told him what course we took. I’m being para-_

“Oh, and I have a very good reason for making sure you got the ultrasound instead of Mitch.”

You bent forward and clasped your palms to your cheeks, furious at yourself. If you were paranoid, it was only proper. Not sure if you should attempt to break out and suffer the consequences, you decided that you should at least find a way to unlock the door just in case. Desperately hoping for paper clips, you opened a desk drawer and only found a stack of files.

 _If I hadn’t let him convince me to take my shirt off… That “harassment scandal” Ed mentioned. He probably wasn’t just a whistleblower. He probably only squealed to draw attention away from himself. Now that vile predator’s probably fixated on me..._

To your surprise, there was a small cooler in one of the other drawers. “I’ll meet you in the operating theater…” Lees-Sey had said to the urologist. If he was performing actual kidney surgery then he wouldn’t be back for hours. You didn’t feel guilty about stealing his lunch, after all he put you through. 

_And whatever disgusting things he wants to put me through in the future, too._

The office was much warmer than the other parts of the building you had been in. As you placed the portable container on the desk your skin produced goosebumps. You gently pried the lid off and set it down before staring at the chiller’s contents. In the center of the ice sat a kidney. 

_Oh my God, oh my God_ , you thought, pushing yourself away from the desk. Enraged repulsion turned to absolute horror. _He doesn’t want to violate me (not that way)…_

“He wants to harvest me.”

 _Him getting Mitch was probably an accident_ , you theorized. Unable to tear your eyes away from the blood filtering organ, you slammed the lid back on. 

_No wonder he was so concerned with my lower back during the ultrasound._

Another wave of horror rode over you and you forced your eyes shut. You knew that you immediately needed a distraction. Your setting was pretty sparse. The walls were bereft of any decoration excluding diplomas. 

Still on edge, you realized that you would need to put away the cooler for two reasons. One, it scared you. Two, when Lees-Sey came back you didn’t want him to know you had any idea of what he had planned for you. Once again clenching your eyes shut, you turned back to the desk and managed to slip the gelid container back into its drawer. Another thought, which you weren’t sure whether to be frightened or gleeful about, wriggled into your head.

_What if that’s the kidney they need for the operation?_

Then someone would be sent back to fetch it. And hopefully that someone would be the urologist or anyone other than your captor. But, you glumly pondered, that didn’t seem likely. The good doctor would come back for it himself. And you were not equipped, physically or mentally, to deal with him at that moment.

As much as you wanted answers, you also wanted to get out of this situation unscathed. And that did not seem like a possibility in the slightest. There was the phone, but you didn’t know if he was bluffing or not. How much power did he really wield?

 _Enough_ , you assumed, _to get the footage of the three of us heading down to the sonographer’s room erased._

You were betting on that kidney being the most horrifying thing in the room, so you decided to go through the non-filing cabinet behind his desk in search of edibles. Before you did that, you checked the final drawer and wished you felt more relief as you picked up a paperclip and pocketed it. 

As you drew near, you noticed a briefcase and a suitcase to the left of the cabinet. A briefcase you could understand, seeing as he had an ample supply of papers to sign, but why would he be in need of a suitcase? You eagerly undid the clasps and inspected the materials inside.

Your attention was immediately caught by a row of lollipops. That particular brand you knew was famous for managing to create stains on the tongue (yet not the teeth) that lasted for several hours. Despite the position you were in, you smiled. A memory of you as a child at your friend’s house resurfaced. He had let the next door neighbor's Chow Chow lick the candy through the fence and her black tongue turned visceral pink. Just like half of the suckers in this case. The rest were blue. 

The next item you noticed was a stage makeup kit. It was possible, you fathomed, that he had burn marks or some other disfigurements.  A cool scar, you thought wistfully, would have looked hot on him. 

_The first sign we weren’t meant to be together was that he was my superior. The second was that he imprisoned me._

Sighing, you took note of three pairs of dentures, each pair in its own individual plastic baggie. They looked very blanched and you guessed they hadn’t been used yet. Only one had elongated canines, like a vampire’s, so you decided that the stage makeup was probably being used for its intended purpose. And each of the dentures, upon closer inspection, were hollow. But it wasn’t like Lees-Sey would have enough time for any theater except the operating.

 _Whatever_ , you thought, remembering how grave your situation was. _Lollipops aren’t sustainable. I need to check the… secret compartment?_ Your fingertips caressed metal. A dozen unpleasant ideas as to what it might be rumbled through your brain.

The object was, tubules and all, an accurate representation of a kidney. At least on the outside. Weighing it in the palm of your hand, you knew it couldn’t have been more than a pound. 

After making sure everything was back in place, you took out the paperclip and used on it on the bottom drawer’s lock, as you didn’t feel like getting off the floor just then. There were clothes and most of them looked work-appropriate, like what Lees-Sey would wear under his coat. Except for the pitch black morphsuit with a hole cut out for the face. Or at least you hoped it was a morphsuit, and not a zentai suit.  

 _I take back what I said earlier. He’s definitely a pervert._

There was a soft knock on the door followed by a tentative “[name]?” 

You got up and almost ran into the door. Thinking only of your freedom, you jimmied open the door and swung it open. Your nurse friend was standing there, her eyes wide. 

“Were you… were you locked in there?”

She made her eyes meet yours and you all you could do was stare back, realizing that the paperclip was in her line of sight. 

“I ran into Dr. Lees and he told me that you were busy in his office.” She swallowed and you had a pretty vivid mental image of why she thought you were in there. “He told me not to disturb you and just slip this under-”

“My phone!” 

She silently handed it to you and you attempted to unlock it with your fingerprint. Vexed after it buzzed the second time, you opted to just put in the passcode. You were going to text Mitch to tell him you were coming back home but his number wasn’t there anymore.

“He deleted all my contacts.”

Furious, you gripped your phone. Not only did he erase every phone number and email address, he had put in his own. As “Jack [blue heart emoji]”.


	4. The Man with the Vantablack Eyes

“He did _what_?”

“Deleted all my contacts,” you replied, shaking with the fury your fear had melted into. “Put your number in.”

“What?”

“You gotta put your number into my phone,” you told her. She gingerly took it. Her fingers tapped against the screen and you breathed deeply. 

“[name], _what’s happenin_ -?” 

“I don’t have time to explain.” It wasn’t a lie, not exactly. Several hours worth of time was unavailable until the surgery was complete but you wanted as big a head start as possible. “Go home. Right now.”

“What are you doing to do?”

_That’s a good question._

“I’m going to go down to security and see if they got him locking me in there on tape,” you lied. Your gut told you to run like hell but you needed to calmly exit the building. 

_But where? I thought I was in more danger than Mitch, but he’s the one with a cut that can be easily reopened…_

“[name],” she said, her gaze taking you in. “If you need… support, we can go down togeth-”

 _He’s dangerous!_ was what you wanted to spit out. _She knows, but not to what extent._

“I don’t want you involved.”

“But I already am.” She gulped. “In, in the sonography room. It was… inappropriate. And unnecessary. You had to undress. I should have-”

You said her name. “Lees wants to harvest my organs. You’re not safe here. Go home.”

This time you couldn’t make eye contact. Plucking the phone from her grasp, you hastened over to the elevators and began your descent to the security office, or so she thought. 

_God, I hope she does what I told her._

Your car was parked in the lot outside the emergency room. As you shuffled across the E.R., you noticed the receptionist talking to a couple police officers.

“That’s him!”

“[given name] [surname]?” You slowly nodded. “You’re the roommate of Mitchell-?”

“Did something happen?” you blurted. She exchanged a look with her partner.

“Your other roommate, his brother, called us about an organ theft. Mitchell didn’t want to press charges against whoever the thief is but, as you can imagine, organ trafficking is a very public concern. Did you not know he had a kidn-” She looked annoyed at herself for giving away the body part. “-uh, organ stolen?”

_Way to go, Ed. You forgot to mention I was there._

“Yes,” you swallowed, “yes, I knew about it. Look, I was just locked up-”

“You have a criminal record?” she barked. 

_Mitch just happens to “lose” a kidney right after moving in with an “estranged” family member and someone in the medical field. In their eyes, he’s probably too afraid to press charges._ A hopeful thought occurred to you. _If they take me down to the station. I’m safe. And I can tell them everything that happened and my theory._

“No, no, I mean I was in the closet-” You could've smacked yourself for somehow mixing that up with “office”. _Oh, that was Freudian._

Her lips curled. “What does your _lifestyle_ have to-?”

The male officer spoke her name. “...look, he’s young, he probably just figured himself out. Let him be himself.” He politely nodded to you. “My nephew is a buhsexual.” 

“Look, are you going to take me down to the station?”

You heard someone running down the hall. 

The lady spoke into her shoulder mic before turning to you. “We’re to bring him home. They’ll be another officer guarding your house, _honey_.” 

Your phone rang. Although the number didn’t look familiar

_It’s not like I can remember any of the deleted ones, anyway._

you actually hoped that it was Lees, because then you could pretend you were still trapped in his office. And he might say something incriminating. 

“[name]!” It was Edwin. “Mitch didn’t want to press any charges-”

“...so you called 911 and now I’m to be escorted back home by two police officers.”

“Oh, I guess they’re… there.”

“Yeah, they’re here. Look, I have a theory that-”

“[name]!” 

_No,_ no. _I told her to go straight_ home.

“I just went down to security and they said-!” 

“ _You_ ,” the female officer exclaimed. Her partner drew his gun on the nurse and the secretary gasped.

“I’m going home,” you managed to say, to anyone who might have been listening, unaware that you would never find out why the law wanted your old friend. 

“[name], did someone just _cock a gun_?” Edwin quietly asked as you slipped into the driver’s seat.   
***  
It was pushing midnight when you awoke and realized you hadn’t showered or even brushed your teeth before slipping into the Land of Nod. As soon as the policeman allowed you entrance into your own home, you greeted your weary roommates and ate a quick meal before toddling off to bed. 

Feeling wide awake, you decided to just eat a midnight snack before washing yourself. After you cleaned up in the kitchen, you sanitized your mouth and hopped into the shower. 

_Now_ , you thought, putting on some fresh scrubs, _I’m ready to stay in my room until daybreak._

You never made it back there. The scent of gore hit you almost as soon as you stepped outside the bathroom. Eyes already adjusted to the darkness, you spotted the blood splotch on the wall. Relief began to flow through you until the realization that the stain should not have smelt that strong hit. 

A little further down the hall Ed’s door was open, which was a first. He told you he slept naked. That didn’t change the fact that you needed to walk by his room to get to yours. His bed was out of your line of sight but he wasn’t lying in it. If you hadn’t spotted his blood-soaked ribcage and vertebrae you would have just assumed he had fallen out.

You gawked at the nude corpse of your roommate. Someone had cut into his back and it almost looked like he had been executed blood eagle style. The lower half of Edwin’s body had been eviscerated, possibly while he was still alive. The only thing you had to be thankful for was that his neck was twisted in a way that turned his face away from yours. For all you knew, his eyes may have been gouged out. But you wondered what would have been worse, gory sockets or glazed unseeing eyes? 

You weren’t sure how long you stood there but eventually the thought of the policeman outside pushed its way through your horror. The officer who had seen you inside would have been long gone but his replacement must have been a few hours into their shift. It was entirely possible that the intruder offed them as well but your car was outside. 

_Mitch_ , you remembered. Your heart felt like it was thrashing against your…

_...intact…_

ribs. 

He wasn’t in his room but the window was wide open. 

_Time to leave._

Fear of making too much noise prevented you from running so you speed walked outside, not bothering to lock up. Unfortunately, your car was parked on the other side of the house.

As you crept faster and faster through the overgrown grass, you almost ran into a large black van that had noiselessly glided into the driveway. At first you thought it had no windows. The glass was tinted so darkly that even the combined light of the lamp post and moon couldn’t show your reflection. There were no side mirrors, headlights, or taillights and it lacked a license plate. It was as though whoever was in the front seat didn’t need their eyes to drive. 

They may have, you theorized, used a camera to see outside but either way this vehicle was definitely unregistered and probably illegal. Whoever designed the soundless van, which almost looked more like a silhouette than anything three-dimensional, was a Drosselmeyer of stealth. 

Edwin’s mutilated body flickered through your mind and you snapped out of your awe. But not in time. You hadn’t noticed the backdoors silently open or the dark figure that came out in a blue mask towering over you. There wasn’t even enough time for you to turn away as they overpowered you and dragged you into the back of the van. 

It appeared even larger on the inside. Wherever there wasn’t medical equipment, recently detached limbs and viscera littered the floor. You were pushed onto your back into a puddle of blood, which promptly soaked through your shirt. Pinned down by the knee on your stomach, you couldn’t fight back as they used one hand to pierce your arm with an IV needle and the other to force an oxygen mask over your face. As they placed a bandage to hold in the needle, you noticed that your mask was connected to a canister via a tube. 

Terrified, you looked away and almost met the gaze of your captor. Black ink-like fluid splattered onto your eyes and obscured your vision. You weren’t sure whether to be more terrified or relieved that somehow the liquid didn’t sting. Vision obscured, a hiss to your left informed you that the canister’s contents were about to be emptied into your lungs.

“Drive.”

A pair of gloved hands gently groped your waist. As the vehicle slid into motion, you felt your kidnapper’s head rest on your abdomen.     
***  
When you woke up the oxygen mask was gone and the black gunk had been wiped from your eyes. There was still some crusting under but you were able to brush most of it off. The lone plastic mat you were on was covered with the blood from your shirt. You were too disoriented to sit up so you laid back down, the bodily fluid squelching under you. You had no idea how long you waited until your mind cleared. There was light seeping under the door crack but it was almost certainly artificial. 

When the door opened you bolted upright, wishing you still had the heavy looking canister with you. Your masked assailant entered the room, head tilted. All you could do was stare, wary, as they playfully strode over to you. They grabbed you by the forearms and hoisted you up, hands lingering for a few seconds. You stepped back. 

“It’s a good thing I already like you, otherwise your callous behavior would be a turn-off.” 

Your eyes narrowed. When he lifted up the mask and pulled the hood down, you weren’t surprised to see who it was. You were, however, surprised that he seemed to be wearing colored contacts. 

“Lees-Sey.”

“We’re about to become much, _much_ more acquainted with each other, so you can just call me ‘Jack’.”

“Why did you murder Edwin? He was sleeping in his bed when you got him, wasn’t he? He wasn’t in your way.” 

“Because he hurt you,” Jack answered sincerely. “You told me ‘Well, we got a new roommate and we’ve spent about a week unpacking for him. And when we were on the stairs, carrying boxes, Edwin tripped and one of the boxes Mitch was carrying fell on me and I, uh, fell.’ You told me when you allowed me to-” He smiled graciously. “- _examine_ you.”

All you could do was gape at the recitation. His tone was jovial, like he had just played a small harmless joke instead of committing an extremely sadistic homicide. 

_Don’t forget the police officers..._

“I examined you again when you were out. You’re a fast healer; I could barely see your bruises.

“Your shirt’s stained. I have no problem if you want to take it off. Like I said, we’re about to get to know each other _a lot better_.”

Your captor reached into his sockets and plucked out the eyeballs. The buildup of that black slimy substance began to run down his cheeks. Without hesitation Jack popped the eyes into his mouth, chewed a little, then swallowed with a large gulp. Giving you a satisfied smirk he stepped over to his suitcase, which you hadn’t noticed leaning against the wall. 

“Those weren’t mine,” he crooned soothingly over his shoulder. 

The impossible darkness in his eye sockets riveted you. Any hope that there might have been a logical reason why those two orifices only _looked_ hollow died as Jack’s fingers elongated and his nails thickened into claws. Flecks of what you thought were his complexion came off, revealing vein-blue skin.

“I didn’t want to startle you as soon as I walked in,” the eldritch being explained, removing the makeup from his face. It was a cold hue similar to the one on his hands. The lollipops’ function was easy to guess. He removed his hollow dentures with a pop, revealing teeth that looked better suited to a carnivore than an omnivore. “By the way, those peeps belonged to one of the policemen. I had to take care of two! That’s why there was so much fresh meat in my ride.

“You look disgusted now but soon I’ll start training you to not care about anyone else but me.” 

Continuing to grimace, you wondered if it was possible to distract him and run away. Somehow he was still attractive. More than attractive, in fact. Otherworldly beautiful. His unearthly allure was getting hard to ignore. Once he gave you a coy grin that revealed more of his pearly whites you involuntarily glanced down, once again frightened. Jack frowned. 

“What if I don’t end up loving you? Or won’t?” you questioned, regretting it as soon as he wordlessly shut the door, not taking his “eyes” off of you. Suppressing a shudder, you decided to continue stalling for time. “What did you to do Mitch?”

“Why do you like _him_? Ugh, the reason doesn’t matter right this second. I’ll stomp out all traces of your puppy crush later. But if you must know...

“He got away. There’s more than enough treats in my larder but…” Jack picked up one of the little metal kidneys and held it out in his palm. “...he was a test subject. These function like the real deal. Or at least they’re supposed to. Nothing should go wrong with the filtration but they’re… antibacterial. To get rid of the need for antibiotics. Hope it doesn’t fail while inside your senseless infatuation.”

With a smile and nonchalant shrug he let it drop into the suitcase. “No, I’m serious. I worked so hard on them so it’d be easier to extract my favorite food. Now I have to worry about some amateur finding my magnum opus. All because I got impatient.

“Actually...” he began, gleeful. It occurred to you that there was nothing between your gaze and his encephalon besides wretched vantablackness. “I didn’t quit my job at the hospital yet. Maybe I’ll see him again. Tricky part will be to lure him outside at night…”

You hadn’t noticed your kidnapper slowly move towards you and now you were inches apart. Gulping, you forced the conversation to continue.

“I thought his kidney hadn’t actually been stolen. That the stitches would be reopened later…”

Jack sighed contently. “God, you’re perfect. Even when you’re wrong, your guesses are still good. At first I was going to kidnap Mitchell, maybe make him do the drudge work around here, _then_ pick you up but… You’re irresistible. I couldn't help myself.”

Before you could step back, he engulfed you in a hug. Remembering how easy it had been for him to physically subdue you, you wondered how challenging it would be for him to subjugate your affections.

 _Try,_ try _to subjugate my affections. I won’t let him..._

But you felt a glimmer of doubt in your heart as his grasp tightened. Somehow he was still attractive. More than attractive, in fact. Otherworldly beautiful. His unearthly allure was getting harder and harder to ignore. 

Pleased as Punch, he gave you a crinkled smile.


End file.
